flies?????

[dancingfatcat]

I live in a condo, so my neighbors are on either side of me. Last year I planted veggies in containers and my neighbors complained that they had flies because of the garden on my small patio. I ended up tossing everything out to apease the neighbors.
I can't hang those fly traps because they smell and the neighbors will complain. I really want to have a garden this year, any ideas on how to control the flies?

I should add that I don't keep garbage cans on the patio, my guess is the flies are attracted by the fertilizer????

Needless to say, I can't do any composting for fear of flies and complaints.

[gardengirl72]

I have been wracking my brains on this one. Is your fertilizer composted or fresh poo?

Have you tried fly tape? That doesn't smell and is very effective. But I can't figure out what is attracting them.

[dancingfatcat]

Thanks for trying to help! I only used hyponex potting soil and the fertilizer I used was a box of organic powder but I used that only after I had moved the plants to the front. the patio is concrete with a lattace type cover and is open about 2ft. on each side along the top.
The garden center said maybe it was because of the heat? It doe's get hot here, well into the 100+s and we are a zone 10. I have tried fly tape and strips but they fly to low to get caught. I have also tried spray a couple of times, it didn't work and I don't like to use the stuff!!!! I bought a zapper that looks like a tennis racket and while it works for a minute, the flies are still there, I can't be out there all day swinging the thing!.:confused:
I need a couple gaint venus flytraps :)

[MoniDew]

were they knats? or flies? I know I had some fungus issues with my soil a while back and got a ton of knats because of it. They're commonly called fruit flies, but they aren't. they're really fungus knats.

[dancingfatcat]

No, unfortunately they are flies :(. Trust me I could deal with gnats and fruits flies so much better, but thanks for trying :).

I think I may have to bleach everything and then spray the wall and ground with some kind of pesticide even though I don't really want to go route. If I do this it means I probably wont be able to have plants back there as it seems they are attracted to the soil. I read about cluster flies, so maybe these are what they are?

[MoniDew]

have you tried vinegar (apple cider vinegar, or stronger gardening vinegar) yet?

[dancingfatcat]

I use vinegar to clean house with but I have never heard of gardening vinegar. Please, tell me more about it. Thanks!

[MoniDew]

I just saw it, recently, when I went to an organic gardening store in Dallas. (I live in Tulsa. Doesn't exist here. I use apple cider vinegar, diluted. I watered my seedlings with it, and it killed off the mold, but not the baby plants. Saved me!)

[dancingfatcat]

Cooool, I guess I will have to try that first before going to extreme measures :eek:

[MoniDew]

well, you know the old saw about "catching more flies with honey than with vinegar", right? Instead of catching them, you repel them - with vinegar. (You could try the honey thing, too. Set a dish out and let them drown themselves...)

[dancingfatcat]

Oh, your soooooo smart! I'll keep you posted and let you know if it works;).